Philippe Starck's design reality show 'Design for Life' starts tonight on BBC 2 at 9pm.
I'll admit to being skeptical and I'm not a Starck fan, but I'll reserve judgement until I've watched the show. There's some stuff on the web, from biogs of the contestants, a Facebook page and these articles in The Guardian and the Indy. Most of the designers have web pages so helpfully, I'll copy the biogs and their links below. Let's all watch the show and then report back tomorrow morning.
Ana-Maria Stewart Pasescu
Age: 23
From: Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire
Ana-Maria's passion for design stems from when she lived in Romania and had to make her own toys to keep herself amused. She moved to England at the age of 10 after her parents were forced to flee the Romanian revolution. Excitable and fanatical, she often draws the thoughts she has in her head straight onto her bedroom wall. She is a free thinker: doors that don't open both ways genuinely frustrate her; she'd love to convert an old phone box into a shower; and she's dreaming up a way to make the shopping trolley a more user-friendly object. Ana-Maria graduated with a degree in Furniture and Product Design from De Montford University, Leicester, and worked for a brand design company for a year until quitting because she was not getting enough creative freedom. The timing was perfect, however, because shortly after leaving the job she was invited to join Starck's School of Design.
Helen Bickford
Age: 22
From: Durham
Helen recently graduated with a qualification in product design from Lincoln University and describes herself as a fun designer. She loves design brands such as Alessi and Ikea as well as quintessentially British design icons, such as the red telephone box. The lack of females in the world of product design spurs her on to make a name for herself in the industry. She believes the experience of working with Starck will help shape the rest of her career and life: "The ideals I'll get from him could inspire me to start my own business, or take those ideals to a new workplace and hopefully change it or make it better – it's just such an amazing opportunity."
Ilsa Parry
Age: 27
From: Liverpool
Ilsa is feisty and fiercely independent. She left home when she was 18 and has supported herself ever since. Her go-it-alone attitude is her driving force but she's so used to doing everything for herself that working as part of a team doesn't always come easily – she doesn't think before she speaks and that often gets her in trouble. A self-confessed workaholic, Ilsa's never happier than when she's busy – she lectures in 3-D design at Liverpool Community College and she's trying to bring a newly developed range of conceptual light products to the market, all while studying for an MA. She loves designs that have a twist of irony and surprise people – like her practical design for a vertical coffin which will save space in already overcrowded cemeteries. It caught Starck's eye – and led him to invite her to Paris.
James Malcolm-Green
Age: 24
From: Fulham, London
Jessica Viana
Age: 25
From: Southampton
Jessica, a self-confessed introvert, is serious-minded and desperate to make her way in the design world – although so far she has not found it easy. After graduating in product design she was unable to secure a job in the industry, but after three years working in retail, she has quit her sales job and thrown herself back into design. Her main drive is to find ways of simplifying complicated products to make them more user-friendly and more suited to a sustainable world. She has a flair for thinking outside the box, she loves loud colours and dresses in a very distinctive style.
Lachlan Roberston
Age: 19
From: Inverness, Scotland
Lachlan is the youngest of the 12 students at Starck's school of design. He has just completed the first year of a degree course in Product Design at Dundee University in Scotland – and is prepared to put his second year on hold to seize the opportunity with Starck. Lachlan's father has been the main inspiration for his interest in design – he studied architecture before becoming a surveyor and always fostered his son's interest in building styles and form. He also introduced Lachlan to the work of Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who remains an influence on the teenager. He loves the way Starck believes that excellent design should be for everyone and not just for a wealthy elite.
Michael Cloke
Age: 22
From: Sevenoaks, Kent
Michael is a quietly confident young man who makes friends easily and will have no trouble bonding with the rest of the group. He graduated in 2008 from the University of Brighton with a degree in 3-D Design. As a child, he used to infuriate his parents by dismantling everything from telephones to televisions – but this apparent vandalism betrayed a deep fascination with how things work and how they are put together. He is eager to work with Starck because of the way he has adapted his philosophy of design and now believes in designing less in order to help achieve a sustainable planet.
Nebil Avas
Age: 22
From: London
At the tender age of 22, Nebil's confidence is astounding – he compares the way he works and thinks to Salvador Dalí and Philippe Starck. "Personally, I'd like to think I'm one of the best designers of the future," he says. Of Turkish Cypriot descent, Nebil didn't enjoy his childhood – as a hyperactive child he hated school, and his father was always on his case. His only salvation was going to Cyprus during the school holidays to help his grandfather in his cobbler's shop. At 15, Nebil saw a book of Starck's work and from that day realised he wanted to be a designer. At school he began to visualise how 3-D objects were made and realised this was his true calling in life. Nebil believes it is fate that this opportunity to work with Starck has come along for him.
Polly Firth
Age: 21
From: Middlewich, Cheshire
Polly received a First in her MA in Product Design from the University of Leeds and believes that she was the best student in her class. She's hugely determined and has her heart set on becoming a renowned international designer by the time she is 40. What infuriates her in the male-dominated design profession is the countless men who design products for women. She is confident and believes she could teach Starck a thing or two – she has a watch of his that drives her insane because of how complicated it is to use. Polly is a leader in group situations. She thinks that coming up with the ideas is her best quality in design – and, interestingly, she doesn't see the fact that she can't draw as a problem.
Robert Meredith
Age: 29
From: Northamptonshire
One of the older members of the group, Robert, already has a career as a designer – he freelances, designing packaging for food products. Robert is a quiet, focused individual who likes to work on his own and is not a natural team player. He therefore may find it less easy than some to mix socially with a large group of fellow students. His first memory of design is sitting on his father's knee and helping to fill in a big scrap book. It left him with a strong desire to work creatively. He feels his thirst for a challenge will enable him to do well at the school of design.
Robert Richardson
Age: 32
From: Leicester
The oldest of the 12 students, Robert has taken a real
gamble to pursue his dream of being a top designer. He had a secure job
as a sign fitter, but gave it up after five years to retrain as a
designer, enrolling in a BA in furniture design at Sheffield. His
passion in design is to create products that are functional and
appealing but that also help create a sustainable world – and he's
excited to work with Starck, whose interest in sustainability is well
known. He has no qualms about being the oldest student at the school of
design and is confident he will fit in. The idea of spending a few
months in Paris is also appealing – in the past he has gone off for
months at a time travelling to far-flung parts of the world.
Trevor Brinkman
Age: 27
From: Bournemouth
Originally from Holland, Trevor is the BFG of the group. But beneath his gentle exterior lies a man with strong opinions, who is prepared to do battle with Starck if he doesn't agree with what the master has to say. Trevor came late to the design game – he has a degree in Marine Biology – but nothing has inspired him quite like it. Now at 27 he has gone back to the drawing board and is studying Product Design at Bournemouth University. He may only have been studying for a year but he knows that the rest of his life is going to be devoted to design in one way or another.
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